One of the main points of Spoon events is to showcase up-and-coming food tech companies whose products and services could notably impact the way we get and eat our food. So when it came time to plan our Restaurant Tech Summit (August 17; tickets are free through August 11, so get yours here), we put out a call to startups interested in showing off their demos at the event. The resulting handful of companies covers a range of different areas of restaurant tech, from back-of-house digitization to making menus more climate friendly.
Needless to say, the restaurant industry faces a lot of unknowns right now, thanks to the seismic shifts it underwent last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hope is that by showcasing these companies, we can shed some light on where the biz is headed and what tech will bring the most value to everyone’s restaurant experience moving forward.
We received a lot of awesome submissions during the application process for this list, and to be honest, it was really tough to pick just 10 from the dozens of entries we received. To all those who applied, thank you for your participation, and keep us posted on your happenings by sending news to our Tips channel.
Here they are, the 10 companies that will be featured at The Spoon’s Restaurant Tech Summit:
FaveKitchens – A Seattle, Washington-based online marketplace specifically designed with independent restaurants in mind. The platform lets customers mix and match food items from different participating restaurants and facilitates order and delivery management. The company hopes to scale beyond Seattle in the near future.
Foodetective – The Geneva, Switzerland-based company’s platform includes a consumer-facing restaurant discovery tool and operations management capabilities for the business side of things. Foodetective bills itself as a “unified API and platform for the F&B industry,” and provides a single interface for managing delivery, bookings, wholesale, invoicing, HR, and other tasks.
Klimato AB – Klimato, a startup based in Stockholm, Sweden, makes an app that lets restaurant calculate the climate impact of their recipes and create menus with climate-labeling functionality. Restaurants can also use the tool to set goals around cutting emissions and communicate progress to guests.
Voicestar.ai – Dallas, Texas-based Voicestar.ai makes voice and AI tech for the back of house, the idea being to automate many of the day-to-day tasks on restaurants’ plates. The company eventually wants to voice-automate the entire restaurant tech stack. It has started with a voice-activated inventory system called VoiceINV.
2D Metric – Restaurant owners/operators that want to test new processes, equipment, or location without actually committing to it may find a lot of use in 2D Metric’s simulation software. The platform recreates restaurant operations scenarios so that businesses can test dozens of different strategies quickly and only actually implement the most promising. In essence the platform aims to cut the guesswork out of much of restaurant operations.
Hadom – The Hadom iOS app (an Android version is on the way) uses geolocation technology to let users buy their friends a drink, even when that user is not at the bar with everyone. The absent friend can simply send a drink via the app. Recipients get notified digitally and can present the confirmation code to the bartender to get their boozy bev.
Gohono – Auckland, New Zealand-based Gohono partners with restaurants and bars to facilitate in-person gatherings by first fostering connections online. Via the company’s social groups platform, would-be group members can RSVP and chat with like-minded individuals before committing to a gathering IRL.
Orderlina & Hotefy by Orderlina – The Orderlina platform provides digital ordering infrastructure for hospitality businesses, billing itself as a “the power of restaurant mobile ordering with a hotel concierge solution.” With the subscription-based service, restaurants can update menus, generate QR codes for guests, manage orders, and market to guests, among other things.
nanobar – The nanobar app is a kind of on-demand, digital bar for those in search of zero-proof bevs. Once a user signs up, they can digitally order non-alcoholic drinks from a nanobar fridge. The app automatically charges the user and sends them a code, which they can then use to unlock the fridge and grab their purchase. The “smart bar” itself could be licensed to other bars that want to provide more non-boozy options to customers.
Hop Robotics – As its name suggests, Greenville, South Carolina-based Hop Robotics makes Walter, a robotic system that dispense draft beverages, aka beer. The machine, which is best suited to heavily trafficked areas like stadiums and event venues, can also take orders, verify age, and process payments.
Curious to see these companies present? Wanna know where the rest of restaurant tech is headed? Join us on August 17th for our Restaurant Tech Summit, a virtual day-long event that will feature speakers from Olo, Kitchen United, Delivery Hero, Nextbite, Zuul, and many others. Tickets are free through next Wednesday, so hurry and get your’s today.
More Headlines
Kroger and Kitchen United Partner to Bring Ghost Kitchens to Grocery Stores – KU kitchens will be located at various Kroger locations, the first of these being at a Ralphs in Los Angeles slated to open this fall.
Lunchbox Acquires Online Restaurant Marketplace Spread – The deal aims to offer both restaurants and customers an alternative to Grubhub, DoorDash, and other major third-party services.
Corona Vending Machine Only Dispenses a Drink if You Properly Order in Spanish – Only those with impeccable pronunciation can unlock the machine and collect a free boozy bev.
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